Worse yet, Detroit actually caters to this sort of thing, with special rear-seat controls for women:

http://www.jihadwatch.org/dhimmiwatch/archives/019099.php

I'd rather be in the driver's seat of a Gremlin than a passenger in a Saudi-special Cadillac.

Posted by: MarisolJW at June 17, 2008 2:42 PM

Good Grief. Can't drive. Sowdi males a bunch of misogynist Barbarians.

Posted by: darcy at June 17, 2008 5:37 PM

Women in Saudi Arabia cannot drive, but they can own cars. What for?

Actually, it makes sense (not the no driving part, of course). The woman can own a car and hire a chauffeur to drive it. Some people in other countries own cars but prefer to have someone else do the driving. (When was the last time that George Bush drove his own car on a public road? It has probably been years.)

Posted by: billposer at June 17, 2008 6:58 PM

How can they pass the eye test at the Saudi DMV with a veil?

Posted by: tanstaafl at June 17, 2008 7:09 PM

So the saudis are letting 1/2 their human resources go to waste. This is a good thing. It is a bad thing only for those women who want out of islam.

Posted by: 3812Michelle at June 17, 2008 9:10 PM

When do we just get tired of this and go tell them to play Slip 'n' Slide™ with their crude oil?

I am tired of sending money to them. We need to explore domestic reserves and invest - for the sake of non-Islamic grandchildren - in alterantives.

Posted by: A Simple Sinner at June 17, 2008 9:43 PM

I am tired of sending money to them.
Posted by: A Simple Sinner at June 17, 2008 9:43 PM

Why do you?

Posted by: Alert at June 17, 2008 11:50 PM

But wait... Islam elevates womens! (I still miss Naseem) And what ever happened to that crazy muslima from the U of Louisiana, or where ever she was from. She could explain this to us stupid Kufars.

Posted by: praxis9 at June 18, 2008 1:37 AM

presidents and nominees for presidency have Secret Service protection, which forbids both driving and pumping gasoline.

so, yes, Bush hasn't pumped gas for years, but pumps the money from our wallets for his oil interests...

Posted by: thebassguy at June 18, 2008 10:45 AM

"The ban is based on religious rulings from clerics who say it is un-Islamic.

I think the clerics are right. It is un-Islamic for Mainstream Muslim women in Saudi to drive. It is also un-Islamic for Mainstream Saudi men to drive.

The act of driving a car is un-Islamic. Cars are not a Mainstream Muslim innovation, but they are an innovation, nevertheless, and innovation is un-Islamic.

Posted by: Abscedere at June 18, 2008 5:23 PM

Women in Saudi Arabia cannot drive, but they can own cars. What for?
.............................

Actually, about 15% of Saudi car owners are women. I've read that SA employs more chauffeurs per capita than any other country.

Because life in SA is so strictly segregated, there are car saleswomen--even a car dealership "manned" entirely by women. Some cars are even specifically marketed to women--apparently, Saudi women's tastes run to curvey lines and garish colors such as lilac and hot pink.

from above:

As her 'legal guardian' he had to sign a declaration that he would not let his wife drive again.
..................

Sounds like a pet owner promising to keep his dog out of the neighbor's yard.

Ayaan Hirsi Ali tells the story of her mother trying to cope in Saudi Arabia after the family was abandoned there by her father. Women are not allowed out unescorted--but they were alone in the country, without any male kinsmen.

So her mother would grab her ten-year-old son off the playground and make him accompany her as her escort. A proud woman, she would glare at incredoulous passersby, daring them to challenge her using her grade-school son as her "guardian". Of course, her son resented having to escort her out on errands, and would often disappear to go play with his friends, effectively trapping his mother in the house.

A completely irrational place.

Posted by: gravenimage at June 18, 2008 5:44 PM